Recipes for 'Vegan Salads'

This delicious salad was inspired by one I enjoyed at Pompano in NYC. I use more ingredients–including the kale, tomatoes, cucmbers, and optional black beans–because if the salad was scrumptious without them, it would be even better with.

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine quinoa, water and a teaspoon of sea salt, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender and water is absorbed/evaporated, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, preheatoiled grill pan over medium high. Place onion slices in one half of pan and kale in the other, lightly salt, and grill for about 3 minutes on each side or until nice caramelized grill marks appear. Combine quinoa, hominy grilled onion and kale, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes in a large non-reactive bowl. In a small cup or bowl whisk together olive oil, lime juice, and all spices, seasoning to taste with additional sea salt. Pour over salad, sprinkle with cilantro and optional nutritional yeast, and gently toss to coat completely. Note: I like to enjoy a couple or three servings of the salad without the black beans and then add them to the leftovers to enjoy for a another few servings.

But since I am the only one in this house who eats it–though, Minnie would love it–I had enjoyed quite a bit of it that way and wanted something different for dinner one evening last week. Something that was light, cold, fresh, and maybe a touch hydrating as it’s already pretty hot and humid here in Coastal Virginia.

That’s when I remembered that, growing up, a popular “ladies’ lunch” was a scoop of tuna salad tucked inside a tomato, often with the top trimmed into a kind of zig-zag. And recently, I had seen on that most unlikely of vegan inspirations, “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives,” a sauce that I was Jonesin’ for: mayo, mustard and Worcestershire.

So, not wanting to fool with hollowing out a tomato, nor wanting to waste any of this big beauty from the farmer’s market, I cut two thick slices, sandwiched my “tuna” inside, placed the stack on a bed of sprouts, and whipped together my vegan version of the Triple D sauce. Voila: dinner!

This may well become a go-to summer meal at my house and, hopefully, at yours.

1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Liquid Aminos or vegan Worcestershire Sauce (soy sauce would be fine in a pinch)

In a small bowl or cup, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard and Liquid Aminos until well-combined. Taste and adjust proportions if desired and set aside. Arrange one-fourth of sprouts on 4 plates and top each with a tomato slice. Divide vegan tuna salad among the 4 tomato slices and spread gently to edges. Top each with a remaining tomato slice, dollop with one-fourth of the sauce, garnish with 3 capers each and finish with a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

Baby, it’s cold outside!…and we are deliciously snowed in yet again. So I made this simple, filling, and quite beautiful salad for lunch yesterday out of ingredients I had on hand.

I rarely allow myself Fritos, but they are vegan, make perfect little scoops, and I love that they contain no palm oil, just corn oil for that rich “corny” taste. (They were “on hand” due to a Frito Chili Pie craving on Sunday night.)

The sald is best after the flavors are allowed to marry for a few hours or even overnight. The onion becomes fairly pronounced, so if you are only but so passionate about onion, use 2 instead of 3 green ones.

1-15.5 ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 large red bell pepper, diced (a yellow or orange bell pepper would be lovely too–I used an orange one in the salad I photographed)

2 celery hearts, diced

3 green onions, thinly sliced

3-4 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh minced dill (or 1 teaspon dried)

1/8-1/4 teaspoon black salt (or sea salt, but you will not get the sulphery “boiled egg” flavor)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Gently toss together all ingredients in a medium bowl, check for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and enjoy with the chips or crackers of your choice. It time allows, cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Since I chose to make decadent (vegan) posts all week as my “Countdown to Valentine’s Day 2015,” when I received this delicious-sounding and -looking, heart-healthy recipe with an invitation to publish from Paulding & Company, I thought I’d share the love.

Paulding & Co. is a full catering kitchen, based in San Francisco, boasting vast opportunities for bonding and excitement founded by mother-daughter duo Tracy and Terry Paulding. The company is going RED for the month of February to support Women’s Cardiovascular Health Awareness and, of course, Valentine’s Day.

Their Valentine’s Day Red Salad is a tasty treat packed with tons of flavor so we can all eat healthier with our sweethearts in 2015.

With “heart-felt” thanks to Paulding & Co., here is their recipe:

Valentine’s Day Red Salad

1 small red beet

1 small “cocktail size” grapefruit

1 small blood orange

1small head Treviso (red chicory)

½ cup finely shaved fresh fennel

Dressing

grated zest from the orange

1 tsp. finely minced shallot

1/8 tsp. dry mustard

2 tsp. sherry vinegar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. salt, or more to taste

freshly ground pepper to taste

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Steam the beet until tender, ½ hour for medium sized. When the beet is tender, cool, peel and cut julienne (if you slice it on a mandoline and then sliver the slices, you’ll get even size pieces). Place in a bowl large enough for all the salad ingredients.

Zest the orange and set aside in a bowl. Completely peel the grapefruit and orange: first slice off the top and bottom, then stand the fruit on the cutting board and pare away the skin and pith in broad swaths. Slice or segment the orange, and segment the grapefruit (do this over a bowl, to catch the juice for the dressing). Place the segments in the bowl with the beets.

Carefully wash and dry the treviso leaves, then slice cross-wise into slivers. Place in the bowl with the beets and citrus.

Wash the fennel, trim off any brown spots and surfaces. Using the stalks as a handle, thinly shave the fennel bulbs on a mandoline, being very careful of your fingers; if you don’t have a mandoline, simply slice as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. Add the fennel to the chicories.

Make the dressing: combine the zest, minced shallot, mustard, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper in the bowl with your captured grapefruit and orange juice. Whisk in the oil. Taste the dressing, adjust balance as needed with more vinegar, salt, etc. Since the beets and fruit are sweet, you want the dressing a little more tart than a regular salad dressing.

Just before serving, toss the salad with some of the dressing, to taste. Finish with a light grinding of black pepper from the mill.

However, because the entree is a pretty all-inclusive one-dish wonder and very creamy-chewy-crunchy, none of the sweet potato dishes I could dream up would provide the necessary contrast. Instead, a salad seemed the perfect fresh, raw burst that was needed for a beautiful and bountiful meal.

So, I’m bringing back my Kale Salad with Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette from last year. Dried figs marinated in Pomegranate Balsamic Vinaigrette and smoked almonds combine with the fresh kale for a light fall salad bursing with flavor and texture.

If you love cranberry sauce, it would be a lovely addition in terms of both color and sweet-tart flavor and delicious alongside the casserole. I recommend my sister-in-law’s Cranberry-Clementine and Walnut Sauce.

The flavor of this simple and pretty salad–which may be served warm, cold, or room temperature–belies its throw-together-quick origins.

I always called broccoli prepared this way “roasted,” but the new term in culinary magazines is “charred” and I liked that for a fun change. Whatever you call it, you will love it!

Note: This salad is delectable as is, but if you like a little more salt, add about 6 oil cured black olives, pitted and chopped. Olives and dried figs are one of the world’s great marriages of flavor.

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or if you really like the “bite” of raw garlic, 1 small clove minced)

Optional: 6 oil cured black olives, pitted and chopped

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a metal roasting pan (I like to use my large cast iron skillet). Add broccoli, eggplant, and a pinch of salt and pepper, toss, and roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10, or until lightly charred. Remove from oven and transfer vegetables to a medium bowl. Add all remaining ingredients, adjust seasoning if necessary, toss gently to combine, and serve warm, cold (chill, covered) or room tempeature (my favorite).

During the first full week of August, I was in MS visiting my family. They live in Laurel, a small town in Jones County, 90 miles north of the coastal towns of Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, etc. If you watched Hurricane Katrina coverage in 2005, these town names, in addition to New Orleans, may be familiar to you.

Despite being so far inland, then governor of the state, Haley Barbour, declared Jones County the hardest hit of any area outstide the immedate coastal strike zone due to the number of tornadoes spawned by the storm system.

Because of damage to their home, my parents and sister were displaced for nearly a year; but they were fortunate to find a lovely rental home near downtown on 6th Avenue, my favorite street in Laurel, where we spent Christmas that year.

Once you have lived through something like that, you never want to be without prepared foods in the house that don’t absolutely require refrigeration or cooking, at least not until opened. So, there is a always still a plethora of canned goods about which I tease them good naturedly. I love to cook for them–and they seem to enjoy it too–so I am frequently creating new dishes, like this one, from their “storm cellar.”

Feel free to cook your rice or other grain “to order,” and use fresh corn but, trust me, this salad is really delicious with the prepared rice and canned corn. It was inspired by a salad I saw on an airport menu as I dashed through ATL on the way to see them. All I saw was “Corn and Peanut Salad.” I have no idea what else might have been in it or what it tasted like, but it doesn’t much matter, as this one is first class (get it?).

In a medium bowl, gently toss together all ingredients except olive oil and white wine vinegar. In a small cup or bowl, whisk together olive oil and vinegar. Drizzle over salad and toss again to combine. Refrigerate, covered, for 2 or more hours to marry flavors.

I good naturedly tease my family in MS about their “storm cellar,” i.e. a plethora of canned goods, no doubt the “aftermath” of having lived through Hurricane Katrina, including displacement from their home for nearly t a year.

When I visit, as I did the first week of this month, I enjoy cooking for them and challenge myself to use what they have on hand, as with this salad, which I prepared for a luncheon in honor of our dear family friend, Lisa Thames. My mom made her famous Black Bean Soup, my sister her coveted Key Lime Pie, and my dad provided the wine–yep, wine at lunch for a special occasion such as this.

Even without the soup, pie, and wine, you’ll love this colorful salad. And my sister, a hominy fan, will be glad I finally posted it!

Yield: 4 to 6 servings as a main course

1-10 ounce package frozen broccoli, completely thawed and drained

1-15.5 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1-15 ounce can white hominy, rinsed and drained

1 larged tomato, cored and diced

Dressing (recipe follows)

Gently combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over, and toss again gently to distribute. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to marry.

Though inspired to make her flavorful lentil soup, eggplant stew, and chickpea and pomegranate seed salad, with Independence Day approaching, I had more traditional picnic fare on my mind.

Essentially, this salad is what you would get if you added cooked potato to tofu egg salad, only with cauliflower replacing the potato as a lower calorie alternative. So, it’s a kind of a potato salad-egg salad hybrid, which works beautifully, as the ingredients are similar and so compatiable: celery, (green) onion, pickle relish, vegan mayo, mustard, turmeric, garlic powder, and black salt with its uncannily-similar-to-boiled-egg flavor!

In a medium-large bowl, mash tofu (I like to use my fingers) with spices and then fold in celery, green onions and cauliflower using a fork. Add dressing and toss to completely distribute. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Refrigerate until serving time to allow flavors to marry. Garnish if desired

I have created quite a few no-chicken salad recipes from seitan, tempeh, and textured vegetable protein. (To find them, just search “chicken salad” here on The Blooming Platter or consult the index of TBP cookbook.)

This tempeh version, made with two of the glories of summer–tomatoes and basil–is made even more addicting with the addition of smoky and crunchy almonds plus a little celery.

There is something about the saltiness of the almonds playing off the sweetness of the tomatoes with a hint of that herby freshness from the basil that is utter perfection. Every rendition I create becomes my new favorite so, for now, this no-chicken salad is my “favorite.” I think it is destined to become a classic and hope you agree!

Crumble tempeh into a medium bowl. Process smoked almonds and celery until finely chopped and add to tempeh along with remaining ingredients. Toss all together and refrigerate to allow salad to chill and flavors to marry. Serve as you would any such salad, though I like it especially well scooped up with veggie chips.

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The BloomingPlatter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes is a celebration of the seasons, featuring a wide range of accessible, elegant vegan recipes for the home cook. Spanning regional American favorites and global cuisines, these 175 recipes feature all the essential goodness that fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs bring to your table, all year ‘round. The book includes recipes for appetizers, soups, sandwiches, salads, main dishes, sides, desserts, and brunch, and they are divided by season within each chapter. Recipe variations and menu suggestions provide inspiration for creativity in the kitchen. The book also includes 8 pages of full-color photos, a general index, and indices for each chapter.

Order your copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble now! If you prefer to purchase from a bricks-and-mortar bookstore, please contact me with your email address to request a Trade Sheet. You simply print it and take it to your local bookseller in order to request that they carry the book. Locally, Prince Books, Norfolk's favorite bookstore, carries it.

Cheers and thank you for your support!

What’s “The Platter”?

The Blooming Platter offers a growing collection of recipes for creative appetizers, beverages, snacks, soups, salads, sides and entrees with a tendency toward ethnic fusion dishes, lightened-up comfort foods and updated classics with a twist. A baker since childhood, I also include a burgeoning selection of dessert recipes that will tempt even the staunchest dairy-lover. Here's to compassionate plant-based cooking and eating!

~Betsy DiJulio
(aka "The Mad Platter")

About Betsy DiJulio

A vegan blogger, freelance writer, and food stylist, Betsy DiJulio wrote “The Veggie Table” column for Norfolk, VA’s Virginian-Pilot newspaper. A lifetime cooking enthusiast, Betsy has worked as a caterer, taught private cooking classes, and has also won national recipe competitions. As a writer, DiJulio focuses on topics of vegan and organic food, art, home and garden design, and green initiatives. A practicing artist, Betsy DiJulio, M.A., Ed.S., is a full-time art teacher at Princess Ann High School in the Virginia Beach (VA) City Public Schools, where she was chosen as the 2010 Citywide Teacher of the Year. This longtime vegetarian-turned-vegan is an animal rights supporter and Virginia Beach SPCA volunteer. DiJulio and her husband, Joe, share their home with a pack of beloved canines.